Educational practice reorientation using OER: Preliminary results of three Mexican faculty at postgraduate level

Abstract

The aim in this paper is to present the preliminary results of a qualitative, multiple case study whose objective was to analyze the way educational practices (EP) are carried out by virtual faculty, when they incorporate Open Educational Resources (OER), as well as the way in which this appropriation of OER contributes to the pedagogical transformation of these practices in the field of education at a master's level. The research involved three faculty of a Mexican university. The data analysis was performed; first, by reviewing each case, initially coding and categorizing in base to the established theoretical references and then tuning as the data emerged. Subsequently, the categorical sum of the cases was made as a whole to obtain global results. The results indicate that the EP of the participants developed predominantly with technological appropriation at the reorientation level, using mostly open access scientific articles to carry out activities with a teaching approach of deepening into knowledge. Teachers using OER recognize changes in their EP such as the enrichment in course design, pedagogical flexibility, variety of resources, personalization of teaching, development of student-centered approaches, and support in the development of competencies. This paper tries to contribute to the knowledge about the implementation of EP when OER were included and carried out in a Mexican context, as well as its potential impact on these educational practices.